virgin shaper

General Discussion
1

Trying to shape my first board. I am shaping a 9’6" long board for east coast knee to waist mush. I am looking for something as maneuverable as possible but not a HP.I am 5’6" and 165lbs. This is what I was thinking

18" nose 5" rocker

23" @ 3" behind center

15" tail 4" rocker

3" thick

6" squash tail

Flat bottom

50/50 or 60/40 rails ( how ever they come out)

How does this sound? what needs tweeking?

Also what is the min. thickness at the tip of the nose and tail?

Thanks

Dave

2

Looks good! I’m from central cali. so not sure how your waves compare. I think that I would move the WP a bit further up but that’s my personal view.

Besides… in a year or two, after you’ve had time to get excited about how GREAT this board rides then made two or three more, because you figured if you tweequed the design a bit that it’d work better… and it did, then tweeque the next and the next…

You get the idea. I’m on my 23rd and each one was GREAT! But the next one was GREATER!

Then when you start vacuum baging balsa composites… well then you’ll have made a quantum leap!

Have fun and let us know how it turns out!

Les

3

Also what size fin and how far up from the tail should I place the box? (Single fin)

4

About 6" up from the tail is pretty typical.

I’d go with an 8.5" fin… the California Classic is a good all-arounder.

http://www.trueames.com/surf_select.php?surf_products_id=3&surf_categories_id=&surf_subcategories_id=

5

Sounds like you’re going to have a blast from the sound of your specs … for what it’s worth, I have two longboards that I rode in central Fla waves whose differences might help you out. One had a lot of nose rocker (4.75"), the other was around 3.75". One had a flatter bottom and one had a slight belly. Both had 50/50 rails. For me, the board with less nose rocker and a slight belly worked brilliantly in mushy waves. Shaping 60/40 or 50/50 rails you’ll most likely have a slight belly anyway, but you’ll love it. Nose and tail thickness is easy. Find a longboard you really like and put the calipers on it. If you don’t have any, you can make some out of masonite with a bolt and wingnut to lock/unlock the jaws. Check the archives, someone might have a sketch (super easy to make). Good luck!

ps - what blank are you using?

6

I am using Benett PU 9.9 HTM

7

Great choice! can’t go wrong with a Terry Martin plug!